Beesweets And Starflowers
by Cindy England
Summary: A lesson in spearhead knapping is cut short by the holt’s most dreaded occupants, who have other plans for Chieftess and cub.


Title: Beesweets And Starflowers  
Author: Cindy England  
Disclaimers: Characters presented within are property of Rushwater Holt. ElfQuest is copyright Warp Graphics Inc.. 

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Tiny hands gripped at the reddish bark, worn near smooth in some areas from constant usage, finding familiar handholds. The sky was still light, the daystar had yet to sink below the horizon far above the canyons, although faint pastel coloured clouds were just now beginning to mark the sun's descent to rest below the hills beyond. Surmounting excitement brought about by this particular night had made sleep elusive to the cubling and so she had slipped quietly out of the den, her parents still slumbering in one another's embrace, and come here to search for her night's mentor.

_**Wildstar?**_ The sending was faint, she did not want to disturb those still sleeping. Pulling herself level with the opening, large green eyes peered into the shadowed darkness of the Chieftess' den.

"Hrmp." A muffled reply sounded from somewhere behind the pile of haphazard furs.

"Oh, sorry Rock," she whispered in return, a slight blush colouring her freckled nose; sliding away from the den and the still sleeping couple within.

_**Beechnut, down here.**_

Turning upon the branch she now stood, Beechnut sighed in relief to see Wildstar striding across the holt grounds below. Forgetting her indiscretion a mere moment ago, a beaming smile broke across her young face and the cubling eagerly scurried down the Elder Tree.

"You're up early," Wildstar remarked with a grin of her own as Beechnut's leather booted feet hit the ground at a run.

"So are you," the youth replied, not wanting to admit how excited she was about the lesson in store for her tonight but well aware of how much it must show despite all her efforts.

Wildstar smiled. "I decided to check on Mooncrier, make sure she was carrying her pups all right." The Alpha bitch was well experienced with birthing litters but her age was starting to grow and could cause complications. Plus, the quiet morning sojourn to the wolf caves had also given Wildstar some much needed playtime with Howler.

At the mention of wolves, Fearless came bounding into the clearing, making a beeline for her bond, nearly knocking Beechnut over in her zeal to lavish sloppy licks upon the girl. Half giggling, half moaning at the unexpected greeting, Beechnut pushed the wolf down and scratched her enthusiastically behind the ears, continuing down between her shoulder blades and back. Fearless went limp with pleasure, dropping unceremoniously to the grass and rolling onto her back in hopes of belly scratches as well.

Wildstar snickered at the display. The she-wolf certainly took after her sire in more than just her sleek black coat. But then again, watching cub and wolf interact together, one could say the same of Beechnut. Wildstar smiled inwardly to herself. Who would have thought a cub of Halfkin's would turn out as Beechnut had?

Just then Fearless struggled to her feet and bolted from under Beechnut's nimble fingers and across the clearing, yapping and chasing the evening bugs that had come out to flit in the dwindling light.

_**Fearless! Be quiet! Others are sleeping!**_ Beechnut sent to her bond. But it was a useless effort. The she-wolf was young and full of a new night's energy. It wasn't long when Beechnut gave up and turned an apologetic brow to Wildstar.

"Don't worry over it, the others will be waking soon anyway," she chuckled. "Shall we begin?"

The cubling nodded solemnly but her liquid green eyes betrayed the thrill that shot through her small frame. Smiling again, Wildstar reached out a hand and clasped Beechnut's in her own. Then the two women walked to a secluded section of the holt to settle upon upturned tree trunks commonly used during councils.

Beechnut sat quietly as Wildstar began to make preparations for the lesson, watching every move with the calculating precision of a wolf observing prey. The Chieftess had brought a small leather sack with her, tied about her waist, and was now unknotting it from her belt. Settling the sack at her feet, she reached within and with drew its contents carefully, setting each piece upon the ground in orderly groupings. Once finished, she turned to Beechnut at her side.

"This," she started, holding up a formless chuck of shiny black rock that reflected her pale white skin in the setting sun, "is firestone. It comes from the World Spine Mountains in the direction of sun-comes-up. You must be careful when collecting it, however, because the mountain from which it came sometimes bleeds wet fire and kills faster than the Rushwater River. Luckily, I still have a small amount left from the last time I fetched some."

Beechnut nodded again in response, this time her seriousness sincere. She had learned well to heed the Chieftess' warnings. Picking up one of the glassy black rocks, she studied it intently. The outside surface was smooth to the touch, like still water in a lagoon, and although it was mostly black, she spotted flecks of grey and white throughout the body of it. It looked as if large fluffy snowflakes had been caught and pressed into the rock.

Next Wildstar held out a second rock but this one was a dull grey with rough edges. "This is a knapping stone," she explained. "You'll notice it is not of the red rocks that make up most of the canyons - they are too soft for the job of chipping firestone. This stone comes from near the troll caves, deeper into the earth."

Reaching out, Wildstar drew Beechnut's hand towards her, opening the palm so that she could press the knapping stone inside it. She then moulded the cubling's fingers around the rock, showing her how to hold it for the most effective movement.

"Everyone must find their own knapping stone that is just right for them, one that learns your hand and your art, but for now you can use this one. Keep the back end secure in the pit of your palm like so and it will give you leverage for the chip." Wildstar continued, now moving Beechnut's arm in an effort to simulate the chipping movements over an imaginary firestone.

Beechnut's face screwed up in concentration as she tried to remember how the knapping stone was suppose to feel in her hand and follow the movements Wildstar was mimicking with her. She hadn't expected spearhead making to be easy but she was fast realizing it was a skill that would take some practice.

"Now you try alone," Wildstar encouraged, letting go of Beechnut's arm. She had been very pleased indeed when the cub had announced her interest in weapon smithing; the tribe had been without one for turns longer than Wildstar could remember and as such, it was everyone's responsibility to instil in the cub what knowledge they had of the art. It would be good to not rely so exclusively on the fickle dealings with the trolls and Wildstar personally felt it important for such traditional arts to be kept alive and passed down to the younger members of the holt.

Nodding in response to Beechnut's efforts to simulate the rhythmic chipping action, Wildstar bent forward to shuffle through the pile of firestone she had brought. Fearless returned from her hunt of night bugs to snuffle the stones that seemed to be of such interest to her bond, then shifted to the dew damp grass before flopping onto her belly and wriggling under Beechnut's legs. Picking through the glassy stones, Wildstar finally spied one that was already roughly spearhead shaped and would be a good start for the cub to begin practice on. Catching it up in her hand, she returned her attention to Beechnut.

"Good. You have the general idea of the motion needed for chipping. Now you must learn how to apply it." The Chieftess held out the chosen piece of firestone so the cubling could see clearly. "Firestone breaks in chunks along smooth lines and when broken, leaves a fine, sharp edging." She ran a forefinger down one side of the rock, indicating the edge she spoke of.

"The trick," Wildstar continued, "is to find the right pressure points within the stone at which to make the cut. And you do that with the knapping stone."

Taking the dull grey rock back from Beechnut and setting it with a firm grip, the elder woman ran the tool along the top of the hunk of firestone, paused, and then pushed down and away from her. The scratch of stone upon stone could be heard and then a small breaking sound. When Wildstar withdrew her hand, a small semi-circular fragment had been dislodged, leaving a perfect wedge in its place that would, with more work, become the sharpened edge of a spear point.

"Ooooh," Beechnut breathed, a smile on her lips. Wildstar handed her the rock to inspect more closely and she eagerly took it into her hands, holding it closer to look at. Squinting her eyes she could see smaller semi-circular edges down the chipped-out wedge until it reached the sharp edge; like so many ripples on a pond.

Beechnut looked up quizzically at Wildstar. "But how do you know where to chip?" she asked.

The Chieftess smiled again; she asked good questions. "That is the art of it, but experience helps," she replied. "As you work with firestone more, you will begin to learn its ways and where is a good place to chip and where is not. Sometimes a bad chip can break the whole stone, however, so it's best not to rush it and think before you chip."

Nodding, Beechnut returned her gaze to the firestone in hand. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow, scrutinizing it intensely, as if willing it to give up its stubborn secrets. Wildstar handed her back the knapping stone, jutting her jaw out towards the firestone, indicating that she should also try a chip. Beechnut breathed in deeply, trying to recall how best to hold the knapping stone, to which Wildstar responded by correcting her grip. Placing stone over stone, she selected a section not far from where Wildstar had worked and tried to mimic the down and away motion she had practised earlier. The stones, however, merely rubbed over one another.

"A little more pressure is all, the strength will come in time," Wildstar encouraged. "Keep the point down and push here, then just let the piece breaking underneath slide away freely."

Beechnut nodded and tried again, this time making an actual scratch upon the firestone's surface. She was getting it, albeit slowly, but she was still young. Tongue between her teeth and not to be deterred, the cubling continued her efforts with practice.

From the foliage luminous eyes, swirling with colour, watched the pair intently. The day had been uneventful and night was proving to be equally so with none yet up and about. Crawling to a better vantage point, a sigh escaped tiny lips, closely followed by a yawn. Rolling upon its back, it grabbed a clutch of leaves, shaking them in boredom.

"Hsst," Beechnut hissed. She had managed to make one successful chip so far but slipped with the knapping stone, the firestone held tightly in her spare hand splintering and cutting her in the soft fleshy part by her thumb.

Wildstar was on her in a blink. "Oh, here, let me look." She well knew the sting of a firestone shard cut and also knew the problems it would cause if the errant sliver was not dung out and allowed the wound to heal properly.

"It's only a surface cut," she stated after a brief inspection of the wound. Beechnut nodded and pressed her hand to her mouth, sucking on the blood that welled from it slowly.

Sudden movement from the two figures in the clearing quickly caught the attention of the hidden observer. Red smeared across the smaller figure's hand; blood. Tiny claws crawled forward for a closer look, eyes wide and transfixed upon the elves, the scrawny wolf still lazing nearby. Unable to contain its excitement any longer, the nimble creature launched itself headlong into the clearing, a rustle of leaves and wings aimed directly at Chieftess and cub.

Picking up the fallen firestone Beechnut had been working on, Wildstar began to right herself when a force knocked the object from her hand in a blur of orange.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, shaking her wrist where tiny claws had grazed it.

"Eep!" Beechnut yelped, startled into a half-stand from her tree trunk seat, as the brilliant orange preserver rammed into and clung to her cut hand still pressed firmly to her face.

Roused from her lazy rest by the women's startled actions and cries, Fearless sprang to her feet, barking shrilly at the intruder's attack. Still clinging to Beechnut's hand, Glimmer whirled deftly upside down, a vicious glare upon its face, and spit gooey white wrapstuff at the she-wolf.

Deafening barking quickly turned to piercing whines as the young wolf's muzzle was swiftly coated in webbing. She shook her head, then pawed and then clawed at it, all to no avail, all the while a panicky look rising in her lupine green eyes. It was then that she took off at a sprint across the holt, head flinging in every direction, jumping and spinning and rolling as if crazed by foaming sickness; Wildstar and Beechnut starring after her in disbelieving amazement before exploding into giggles.

"Noisybad growler," Glimmer reprimanded the fleeing wolf, then nodded its head in satisfaction before turning back to a cross-eyed Beechnut.

"Little highthing hurt?" it queried, pulling at Beechnut's hand, who uncertainly lowered it from her mouth. Glimmer clambered on top of her palm to peer at the cut itself, shaking its head.

"No, no, no, no. Highthings no hurt - is bad, Glimmer say so!" No sooner had the preserver scolded the elves then it was spitting yet more wrapstuff, this time around Beechnut's hand, covering the small cut.

"Ack, what are you doing?" Beechnut exclaimed, barely resisting the urge to shake the strange bug from her hand.

Looking up, Glimmer patted the bandaged webbing softly, a wide smile breaking across its face. "There, Glimmer make better, like nobroke highthing!" It seemed quite pleased with itself.

Beechnut flashed a quizzical look to Wildstar, who merely shrugged and grinned. "Ugh, yes, thanks, Glimmer. It feels better already." Glimmer beamed with further delight.

Sweeping its gaze to Wildstar now, whose amused grin suddenly dropped, Glimmer held up a tiny arm to wave at the Chieftess. "Highthings no play with breaky bits - get hurt. Highthings run-run too much, no play - is bad. Glimmer make highthings happy."

"It's all right, Glimmer," Wildstar began, trying to sooth the agitated creature, despite feeling somewhat ruffled herself for being scolded like a milk-toothed cubling. "I'm teaching Beechnut to-"

"BBBBRRRRREEEEEETTTTTTT!" Glimmer screeched over top of Wildstar's voice, sending both women cringing with a shudder and undoubtedly waking anyone in the tribe within earshot.

"Glimmer!" Wildstar demanded, irritation building, "What has gotten into you?"

But before the woman could continue, a second winged sentry flew in to attack, thumping soundly into the now distraught Chieftess' mane of hair, clambering through the locks until it reached the forefront. Her mouth opening and closing, finally settling upon closing, Wildstar could only give Beechnut an exasperated look. Beechnut, in turn, mimicked Wildstar's previous shrug.

"Highthings with breaky bits hurt highthings, make highthings broke!" Glimmer explained in a torrent to its companion, Capnut, pointing to Beechnut's hand, half covered in wrapstuff, to demonstrate its point.

"Oohhh," Capnut replied, its swirling eyes wide in awe.

"Highthings always run-run, never take time to go stillquiet and play," Glimmer continued, "Very bad!"

Capnut nodded its head in agreement enthusiastically. "Very bad," it echoed.

"Capnut and Glimmer make highthings stop run-run, be happy! Glimmer say so!" Glimmer concluded.

Wildstar's eyes shot to Glimmer, apprehension mounting towards what the preserver might have in mind to make her and Beechnut 'happy'. "Oh no you don't!" she began but the protest was already too late, as both tiny creatures latched onto one elf each and began to drag them with surprising force from the clearing.

"Uh, Wildstar…?" Beechnut's voice was verging on fearful.

"Ouch! Capnut! Stop that!" Wildstar commanded, flailing her arms in defence as they were herded forward at a quick jaunt.

"Highthings no run-run, be happy. Capnut and Glimmer make happy!" the preservers chorused together.

Disgruntled, Wildstar begrudgingly relented. She had no desire to spend the evening in a dark mood by becoming increasingly angry and less desire still to go through the hassle of fending off the preservers, who would in all likeliness become ornery if opposed. Beechnut, stumbling alongside her Chieftess, seemed to come to the same conclusion.

In short order the strange group came to a part in the trees. The preservers gave the two elves one final push and Wildstar and Beechnut burst through the opening and into a lovely moss covered lagoon.

"Ooohh," Beechnut breathed, surveying the placid surroundings. "It's so beautiful!"

Shaking her ruffled clothes and hair back into place with a grumble or two, Wildstar paused, raising her head to look around herself and had to admit she was pleasantly surprised.

Glimmer and Capnut flitted back down from their tree perches, grabbing both women's hands and tugged them once more, further into the rocky clearing and towards the lagoon.

"See? Is good, Glimmer knew, Glimmer say so! Now highthings stop run-run, be happy, go splish-splash!" Glimmer babbled, heaving on Wildstar's leathers.

Eyes narrowing, Wildstar held out her arm in a protective fashion, pushing Beechnut gently behind her and away from the water's edge. The bank was empty and comprised of large, flat red rocks, like the majority of the canyons and river edges; no tracks would be found. She scanned the water's surface, searching for any sign of a ripple below water.

Slowly she bent, picking up a flat stone near her feet, careful to keep her eyes upon the water before her. Righting herself again she tossed the stone across the water's surface, making it skip merrily a hand and a half before sinking into the liquid depths. The Chieftess held her breath, waiting.

Nothing happened and the tiny eddies made by the stone gradually eased out again, calm returning the lagoon. Satisfied, she sighed and turning to Beechnut, giving one final shrug before beginning to unlace her shirt and breeches. A dip in the tranquil waters surrounded by such scenery would be nice, after all, she realized. In fact, she would have to remember this spot for future trips with Rock and Dreamberry.

A soft giggle escaping Beechnut's lips, she grinned and nodded in reply, plopping down and proceeding to pull off her thick boots. When the pair was free of their clothing they languidly strolled down to the edge of the rocks and eased themselves into the surprisingly warm pool.

"Mmmm," Wildstar moaned in approval, letting her eyes drift closed, tendrils of her long brown hair swirling around her in the soft current.

Grinning in smug victory, Glimmer and Capnut zipped out of the clearing, leaving the elves to enjoy their evening's sojourn but returned soon enough, arms laden with a mass of treats to bestow upon the women.

"Capnut have beesweets for quiet highthings!" the golden-hued preserver exclaimed excitedly, pushing a sling of wrapstuff oozing with honeycombs towards the pair.

Wildstar and Beechnut exchanged wide-eyed glances at one another, Beechnut reaching out a tentative finger to scrap a small line in the sticky goo and raising it to her mouth to taste. Her face broke out into a wide grin as she sucked on her finger and soon both Chieftess and cubling broke into the pile with childish glee, savouring every morsel that didn't drop into the water.

Meanwhile, Capnut and Glimmer diligently worked bright purple starflowers into their hair in intricate designs, the gentle massaging of the actions delightfully relaxing. Sinking down further into the warm water, Beechnut and Wildstar hung in a pleasant haze of utter contentment, their prior doubts and irritations about the preservers long forgotten for the night.

_**I guess the preservers aren't really so bad after all,**_ Beechnut sent thoughtfully, marvelling at how Glimmer was managing to wrap Wildstar's immensely long hair into such interesting patterns without getting itself caught in the process.

_**Not when they act like this, they're not,**_ Wildstar agreed, bemused. _**Although I don't think Rock would ever admit such a thing,**_ she added, grinning at just what her lovemate was likely to say when she related this encounter to him and Dreamberry later this eve. She could already foresee his incredulous stare and blunt refusal to believe it was anything more than a dreamberry induced hallucination on Wildstar's part.

_**But I dare say Fearless will likely never come near another preserver again,**_ Wildstar snickered, wondering if the poor she-wolf had managed to free herself from the wrapstuff Glimmer had doused her in. Hopefully Halfkin would have managed to corner and calm her enough to cut the strands free if need be.

_**Poor Fearless,**_ Beechnut agreed sympathising with her wolf-bond's unfortunate luck but still unable to fully contain the hint of a mischievous cubling grin. _**She'll be all right, she's strong, but I don't think she'll be chasing any bugs for a long while, that's for sure.**_

The two women broke out into a chorus of giggles. Silently and unseen above the elves, both preservers winked in satisfaction at one another - mission accomplished.


End file.
